Lead Poisoning, Recovery, and a Remarkable Reunion

Written by Carly Lynch, WILDCare Director

At the end of April, we received a call on our Wildlife Helpline regarding a female Canada Goose that was not doing well. This particular goose had been returning to the same balcony for 16 years to nest (did you know Canada Geese can live to over 20 years old?¹), and this year the finder, Wynanda, noticed that she was weak and not ambulating normally. We don’t usually get such a complete history about the patients we admit. More often than not, a finder has just happened to come across an animal that looks to be in need, and does not know the story leading up to that point. We are so lucky that Wynanda was so observant, and cares so much for this goose. The goose’s condition declined to the point where she was unable to stand or walk and could not return to her nest. Wynanda even gathered her up in a towel and placed her back on the nest, where she had already laid 8 eggs. Not many Edmontonians would be brave enough to pick up a Canada Goose! Throughout this time, Wynanda remained in contact with Kyle, our WILDRescue Manager, and when the goose lost the use of her legs entirely, we knew we needed to step in. Kyle safely contained her and transported her back to our Wildlife Hospital for assessment, and was given the case number 26-302.

When we hear about a Canada Goose that cannot stand in the springtime, we think of three possible scenarios: hypocalcemia (low levels of calcium in the body due to egg production and laying), lead toxicity, or avian influenza. Fortunately, the staff that examined her noted that she was not showing any of the tell-tale signs of Avian Influenza, so she did not need to be euthanized on arrival and we were able to proceed with diagnostics.  Since this goose had laid 8 eggs prior to being admitted, calcium injections were a part of her initial treatment plan. Once she was more stable, we took blood to do a lead test as well as a complete blood count, and we performed radiographs (X-rays).

Why were we worried about lead toxicity? Canada Geese and other waterfowl will often end up accidentally ingesting lead fishing weights or spent lead ammunition when they are foraging. Their body will start breaking the metal down with mechanical (grinding) and chemical (stomach acid) digestion processes, and it will eventually end up in the blood stream. Many of our wildlife will unfortunately have low lying levels of lead in their blood, and there is technically an “acceptable” range where they may not show clinical signs of toxicity. 302’s blood lead levels were higher than acceptable, and her radiographs showed that the lead was even visible in her stomach! Lead toxicity can affect every body system, including the central nervous system, which is likely what caused the paresis (slight or partial paralysis).

We provided supportive care including subcutaneous fluids, orogastric tubing, psyllium husk (aka Metamucil), and cage rest. Within just a couple of days, she was standing and walking on her own again! We were so thrilled to see this quick improvement. Once the lead was no longer visible in her stomach, we began a treatment called chelation therapy, where we administer a medication that binds to the lead in her system and helps remove it from her body. Why did we give her psyllium husk? If we were to start chelation treatment before all of the lead had moved through her GI system, it’s possible that it could have made the lead in her stomach more easily available to the body and her blood lead levels could have increased significantly, putting her at further risk. The psyllium husk can basically “grab on” to the lead pieces in her stomach, and move them through her system to be defecated out.

This all sounds like good news, right? Of course, we were thrilled that our treatments were working, but her care was not that easy. Though on intake she (adorably) drank water directly from a bowl offered by our Wildlife Technician, Jillian, this goose would not eat while with us, which adds a whole layer of complication to her rehabilitation. We tried all the tricks – we tried putting a Canada Goose decoy in her enclosure with her (sometimes this helps them feel more comfortable, and more willing to eat), we provided a wide range of food options, we displayed the food for her in multiple different ways (maybe she needs a wide flat dish, maybe she needs the food to be floating in the water, maybe she just wants grass, maybe, maybe, maybe…). We also tried putting her in a pool, to see if giving her the chance to forage in the water itself would help. This time we put another Canada Goose decoy in the water with it’s head pointing down as if it were eating. All this really seemed to do was make 302 seemingly concerned for her “friend” when its’ buoyancy was declining and it was flipping over in the pool (Kyle and our Director of WILDCare, Carly, quickly solved the buoyancy issues with creative applications of air-filled water bottles and pool noodles, but our patient still did not seem to care for her enclosure-mate).

It is normal for nesting Canada Geese to eat relatively infrequently throughout the month they spend incubating their eggs. As mentioned before, this goose had already started laying eggs prior to being admitted. Perhaps her body was prepared for that process, or it could have been due to the stress of captivity, or maybe it was due to the lead toxicity, but she never really started to self-feed while in care (even after her blood lead levels went down). In situations like this, it is always a balance between stress management and nutritional support. In wildlife rehabilitation, stress management plays a role in every thing we do. In wildlife rehabilitation, stress kills. When you are caring for patients that you cannot communicate with and that are not comforted by human presence, stress reduction is key to their success. As far as nutrition goes, Canada Geese can lose over 25% of their body weight throughout their time incubating their eggs². Fortunately, through orogastric tubing and nutritional support, we were able to maintain her nutrition so that she did not lose weight to that degree. Healing takes energy, and we needed to ensure she had enough to make it through her chelation therapy!

Finally, after 20 days in care, this resilient goose was ready for release. We called Wynanda to share the good news, and started making a plan for when we could release her. We still had questions– would her mate have waited for her? Would she start eating again once released? Will she nest again? There is always so much to consider when taking care of our wild patients, from the moment we get the first phone call all the way to their release.

On May 11th, Kyle brought this goose back to the home she has been returning to for well over a decade. As soon as 26-302 left the carrier, she started calling. Her mate’s head shot up into the air as soon as he heard and recognized her, and the sounds of honking filled the air as the gander came running towards her. They greeted each other (loudly) and started to make their way to the rest of the flock, with 302 taking little bites of grass as she went. What a perfect release!

The world of wildlife rehabilitation can be filled with disheartening stories; the Common Raven full of pellets from a pellet gun, the porcupette orphaned after the mother was hit by a car, the Canada Goose suffering from lead toxicity… the vast majority of patients that we see are coming in because of something that has to do with people — not necessarily someone hurting an animal on purpose, but usually as an unfortunate side effect of humans and wildlife sharing spaces. Not every patient can be saved or is a candidate for rehabilitation, and in those moments, we are honoured to provide compassionate and humane euthanasia to prevent further suffering. But sometimes, we get to live stories that we can’t wait to share with others. Sometimes, we get to witness a beautiful release and reunification like this one. This is why we do what we do, and why we work so hard for each patient that comes through our doors.

As of May 27th, the couple has not begun nesting again and may not for this season. They are still together, though, and are spending most of their days swimming and feeding in the lake behind Wynanda’s home.

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